


Auld Lang Syne

by My_Alter_Ego



Series: Holidays [8]
Category: White Collar (TV 2009)
Genre: Gen, My New Year’s gift to readers about resolutions and bucket lists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28427448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/My_Alter_Ego/pseuds/My_Alter_Ego
Summary: Two partners discuss the past year and expectations for the new one. Uncharacteristically, Neal may share a bit more than what he intended.
Relationships: Peter Burke & Neal Caffrey
Series: Holidays [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2025623
Comments: 7
Kudos: 30





	Auld Lang Syne

Peter walked into Neal’s loft on a Thursday night, but it wasn’t just your ordinary night that was inching toward a welcome weekend away from the Bureau. Tonight was New Year’s Eve, and Peter had come bearing gifts.

“El wanted you to have this champagne to bring in the New Year this evening. I didn’t have the nerve to ask what it costs,” Peter sighed.

Neal grinned. “Well, please convey my heartfelt gratitude to your thoughtful wife. Are you guys doing something special?”

“Nah, we’re going to be sitting on the sofa watching the big red apple drop in Times Square. That venue certainly won’t look the same with the pandemic restrictions about large gatherings still in place. There’s going to be a lot of disgruntled pickpockets in the city tonight.”

“Well, the fireworks can come later when you and Elizabeth go up to the bedroom and welcome the New Year with a …., um, I was going to say ‘bang,’ but that really sounds crude,” Neal laughed.

“And Neal Caffrey is a gentleman who would never do ‘crude,’—right?” Peter rolled his eyes.

“I’m glad you recognize my sterling qualities,” Neal teased.

“Listen, Buddy,” Peter continued. “El wants you to stop by the house tomorrow. There’s a tradition she told me about. According to my wife, an old wives tale says that if a household’s first visitor of the year is a tall, dark-haired stranger, then you’ll have good luck all year. I don’t know if she’s pulling my leg, and you’re definitely no stranger, but after these past twelve months, I think everybody could use some better luck.”

“Yeah, I hear you,” Neal agreed. “I guess the really lucky people in 2020 were those with a crystal ball who managed to invest heavily in companies that made toilet paper and hand sanitizer.”

“So, what are your plans tonight?” Peter asked curiously.

Neal shrugged. “Probably sharing this bubbly with June in her parlor.”

“No Mozzie?” Peter asked. “If spirits are involved, I would have thought he’d be front and center.”

Neal enlightened his partner. “Mozzie has his own ideas about when a new year commences. He’s shunning the Gregorian calendar this year in favor of one from another culture, although I’m not sure which one because, after a while, I lose track. In the past, it was the Chinese New Year in January or February after the first new moon. I also remember him celebrating Jewish Rosh Hashanah, and Diwali like the Hindus in India. If memory serves me, those holidays occurred in the Fall. Then there was the really ancient one of Nowruz that marks the new year in parts of Iran and Afghanistan, but I can’t give you an exact date.”

“And I thought you were a complicated mess,” Peter sniped.

“I’m not complicated at all,” Neal objected with a grin. “What you see is what you get.”

Peter laughed. “Neal, you once told me that you’d never lie to me, so please don’t start now.”

“Okay, Mr. Doubting Thomas, if you ask me no questions, then I can’t tell you any lies—deal?”

Peter sighed. “Well, maybe we’ll let sleeping dogs be for now, but you have to admit, our auld lang syne was a series of ups and downs this past year. There were many times when this partnership was stretched to the limits. We should be thankful it managed to endure that treacherous road. Maybe you could make some New Year’s resolutions to stay on the straight and narrow and stop making me doubt you when it counts.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” Neal couldn’t help yanking Peter’s chain.

“Neal, get serious,” Peter warned.

“I am serious, Peter. And for your information, I don’t make resolutions just because a calendar year turns over.”

“Why? Is that because you know you can’t keep them?” Peter pushed.

“Perhaps, or maybe I’m more pragmatic and make a bucket list,” Neal said with a challenging raised eyebrow.

“That sounds ominous,” Peter replied. “So, what items do you have on that list? Is becoming rehabilitated even in the top ten?”

“Oh, you know, the usual stuff, and, no, the word, ‘rehabilitation,’ didn’t make the short list.”

“That’s worrisome,” Peter huffed. “I have to admit that I don’t know what is ‘usual’ for someone like you, so please clue me in.”

“You’re very nosy,” Neal chided.

“That’s my job when it pertains to you, Buddy. So, c’mon, what’s on your bucket list?”

Now it was Neal who was sighing dramatically. “Since you have a burning desire to know, I’ll give you the highlights. It’s really a very short list, and at the very top is getting rid of this stupid tracker and escaping the tyranny of the government.”

“The word ‘escaping’ is already freaking me out,” Peter admitted. “I hope you’re using it figuratively.”

“Of course,” Neal gave his handler a sardonic glare.

“Keep going,” Peter urged.

“Well, once I’m a free spirit, I intend to visit all the European countries that were part of my past,” Neal added with a wistful smile.

“You may not be aware, but I’m shaking in my boots right now,” Peter snarked. “Continue!”

Neal shrugged. “That’s it. I told you it was a very short list.”

“I know you, Neal, and I think there’s something you’re not telling me. If trust between us is going to be on the agenda for 2021, then being honest now is a good first step. Maybe, if it’s legal, I can help you to cross off that unknown item on your hypothetical bucket list.”

Neal shook his head and avoided Peter’s eyes. “There are some things that even you can’t make happen.”

“Try me,” his handler insisted.

Neal took a deep breath. “Okay, Mr. Insistent FBI Agent, help me find my mother before it’s too late to reconnect with her. I don’t want to live the rest of my days not seeing her at least one last time.”

This was not what Peter had been expecting, and it made his heart ache for a complex and conflicted man who had never been afforded closure. This was an area of Neal’s past that he kept close to the vest and didn’t share. Obviously, it made his life feel unfinished because there were deep abysses that he couldn’t fill, and Peter suddenly realized how fortunate he was to have a solid family history with no blank spots.

“You know, Buddy, I guess your bucket list has suddenly become mine,” he finally whispered softly to his young friend. “Somehow, we’ll make it happen together because that’s what partners do.”


End file.
